SEOUL: South Koreans voted Wednesday in legislative elections clouded by North Korean nuclear threats and the multiple challenges facing Asia's fourth-largest economy, as President Park Geun-Hye enters the final stretch of her term in office.
Political power in South Korea is firmly concentrated in the presidency and elections to the single-chamber national assembly are traditionally dominated by local issues.
Rising unemployment, plunging exports and worryingly high levels of household debt have led to criticisms of Park's handling of the economy and, by extension, of her ruling conservative Saenuri Party.
Dissatisfaction is especially high among young people, with the jobless rate among those aged 15-29 at record levels.
"If the ruling party is given a majority, the country would have an economic crisis worse than 1997," opposition Minjoo Party head Kim Chong-In told supporters at a recent rally.
The nationwide vote kicked off at 6 am (2100 GMT Tuesday) with 42 million voters eligible to cast their ballots. Results were expected later Wednesday.
About 17.8 million people, or 42 percent, had cast their votes by 2 pm, according to the state election committee, compared to 37 percent in the last general election in 2012.
The left-wing opposition has sought to frame the vote as a referendum on Park's economic policies, but has suffered from factional infighting and breakaways that threaten to split the liberal vote to Saenuri's advantage.
Kate Kim, an unemployed 25-year-old college graduate, said that crippling levels of joblessness had persuaded her and many of her previously apathetic friends to vote.
"This is the first time I have voted... our country desperately needs change, especially for young and jobless people like me," Kim said.
All 300 seats in the legislature are up for grabs, with 253 chosen in first-past-the-post constituency elections, and the remaining 47 elected on a separate ballot via proportional representation.
In the last election in 2012, the Saenuri Party won a simple majority of 152 and believes it can improve on that showing this time around.
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